Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is widely employed in a number of life-saving situations, and various of devices have been developed to facilitate transfer of air from the mouth of the rescuer into the mouth and/or mouth and nose of the patient. Some of these devices comprise masks which fit over nose and mouth of the patient, and some include valves and fitters to preclude vomit or other fluids from reaching the rescuer.
In such masks, it is desirable that there be effective sealing about the periphery of the mask against the face of the user so that the plenum chamber formed within the mask can be effective in forcing air into the patient's lungs. Variations in the size ad contour of the facial area to be encompassed due to the size of the patient often require multiple size masks or some form of flexible seal to accommodate the variations in facial contour and facial size.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel mouth-to-mouth resuscitation mask which is readily adapted to seal effectively and rapidly against the face of user having a wide variety of facial sizes and contours.
It is also an object to provide such a mask in which reverse flow of air and fluids from the patient to the rescuer is effectively precluded.
Another object is to provide such a mask which may be assembled easily from relatively inexpensive components.